Register

To receive our newsletter, click below…

Scottish FDF hosts symposium on sustainability

13th May 2008, 10:12am

The Scottish Food and Drink Federation (SFDF), the Institute of Food Science and Technology and The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland have today joined forces to host a symposium on sustainability in the food supply chain.

The Symposium, which takes place at the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor Hotel, will highlight the need to strike the right balance between the economic, environmental and social aspects of issues such as sustainable development, in a time when the Scottish Government is focusing on developing a National Food Policy.

The event begins with a keynote address by Jim Mather MSP, the Scottish Government Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, on the policy and regulatory context.

Other speeches will cover: the Food Standards Agency Scotland's approach to sustainable development in policy making; Peter Jones of BIFFA will talk about the utilisation of food waste; Dr David Baines of Acumentia will discuss food science and chemistry in the science of global food supply; FDF's Callton Young will outline FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition; and Angus Maciver of Morrisons will give a retail perspective on sustainability issues.

Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather, said: "Our overarching purpose of Government is sustainable economic growth. We all want to enhance Scotland's reputation for food and make the nation healthier and wealthier, with production benefiting communities and the environment. To succeed in today's globally competitive market, food businesses are already working with greater collective vision and getting more appropriate and more consistent support from Government and our agencies.

"We are currently considering the responses to our national discussion on food and it's clear there is far more to food than what we put on our plate – not just food production and consumption but health, education and tourism. We will set out our next steps in June to develop Scotland's first-ever food policy that helps support a sustainable food industry."

Flora McLean, SFDF Director said: "This year's topic reflects the importance of the sustainable development agenda to the future growth and prosperity of the food and drink industry. As the largest manufacturing sector in Scotland, a successful food and drink industry is a vital component of a healthy Scottish economy. Therefore, at a time when we are all increasingly aware of our environmental responsibilities, it is important to ensure that both the Government and industry works to strike the right balance between environmental, economic and social factors. Setting environmental improvements in an economic context should help us to deliver progress without damaging the underlying competitiveness of business."

Related Articles:

13 Oct 2011 - FDF Community Partnership Award winners announced
22 Mar 2011 - Date for the diary: FDF's Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Sector Group's conference
07 May 2009 - Healthy routes to profit
26 Mar 2009 - FDF hosts 56th sweet conference

Click here to submit a comment!

Have your say!

To comment on this article, simply enter your name and email and send us your views. Please note that your comment will appear publicly below this article once it has been processed. For enquiries please email info@costsectorcatering.co.uk.